This invention relates to a window shade and, more particularly, to an improved window shade which can be sized to a window, when rolled, without the need for cutting instruments.
In the above-referenced application, there is disclosed a window shade wherein the shade width may be shortened by the consumer in the home, without unrolling of the shade, to accommodate window openings of various sizes and wherein the shortened shade has smooth, straight edges and hangs without drooping or wrinkling. In the general aspect, that invention provides a window shade including a roller and a shade secured to the roller having at one or both edges a plurality of spaced, hand-strip lines extending from end-to-end, i.e., from top-to-bottom, substantially parallel to the edges. The strip lines permit hand-stripping of discrete predetermined widths of the shade while the shade is rolled on the roller thereby eliminating any requirement for cutting of the shade material. The roller is provided with a plurality of longitudinally spaced, circumferentially extending strip lines substantially coincident with the lines of the shade to permit removal of discrete lengths of the roller corresponding to reduction of the width of the shade.
The roller upon which the shade material is mounted may take any of the several forms described in detail in the referenced application. For example, the roller may take the form of the rollers disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,203,468; 3,299,944; and 3,580,323, all assigned to the assignee of this invention, which generally comprise two sections, one being telescopable into the other, for fully supporting the shade material across its upper edge while permitting the smaller roller to telescope into the larger one. In all of the roller forms, the interrelationship of roller and shade material provides full support for the shade material whereby the shade hangs with smooth, straight edges and without drooping or wrinkling, regardless of the width of shade material removed in sizing the shade. In sum, the invention disclosed in the referenced application eliminates the need for any cutting of the shade and the need heretofore for cutting machines whereby a window shade can be simply and conveniently sized by the consumer in the home, without unrolling of the shade material, with the sized shade having smooth, straight edges and hanging without drooping or wrinkling.
The steps required to decrease the width of the shade include grasping the shade at its hem with the shade being in the rolled position on the roller stripping off a desired width of the shade material by unwinding the shade along a chosen strip line, and removing a corresponding length of material from the roller. However, as is typical in window shades, the hem is formed by folding the shade material upon itself along the end opposite the end attached to the roller to form two overlapping portions which are joined together along a hem line extending between the edges of the shade. A hem stick is inserted in the hem for grasping for raising and lowering the shade. Accordingly, to size the shade heretofore described, it is necessary to grasp a double thickness of shade material and to locate a hand-strip line to begin the shortening operation. However, difficulty has been encountered in locating the strip line at the hem particularly where the hand-strip lines are invisible, as in the preferred form, as well as in initiating stripping through a double thickness of shade material.